Why Didn't You Tell Me Sooner?
by AmericanGecko
Summary: Takes place the day after StD. Kim has a conversation, and realizes that sometimes it takes someone else pointing it out for us to see what we wouldn't admit. One-shot with later reveal. *REVEAL IS NOW POSTED*.  COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1: The Conversation

A/N

One of those crazy little plot bunnies that wouldn't wait for my current story to finish. ;) But don't worry, _Chapter 15_ of **G.V.U.: The Freshman Rush** will be up soon.

The day after Junior Prom, Kim has a conversation with someone about her personal life. The person reveals they saw the sparks between her and Ron when she wouldn't. But who is she talking to?

Reveal to come later. :)

* * *

Kim stared across the table dreamily while the person sitting across from her tried once more to get her attention.

"Kim? Kim? Earth to Kim Possible?"

"Huh, wha?" the red-head said as she snapped back to reality. "Sorry, just thinking about last night."

"And who could blame you? Last night was pretty special for you."

Kim smiled. It was the most special night she could ever remember, for more reasons than one. She'd finally managed to put Shego and Drakken behind bars, and had stopped an actual world-wide crisis in the form of the pair's Lil' Diablo robots. The reporters had called it the "worldwide Diablo destruction," and it had probably been the closest Drakken had ever come to world conquest. That in its self should have been special. But that wasn't why Kim Possible couldn't seem to keep her head on the here and now.

"I mean, when Ron showed up in that light blue tux, I think everyone could tell you two were supposed to have gone to that dance together. Even if you did originally go with that…_thing_."

Kim was brought out of her daydreams with a cringe. "I still can't believe I let Bonnie get to me like that. I mean, what would have been so ferociously bad about going to the Prom with Ron?"

"In your words, 'the person you go with—it makes a statement.'"

Kim sighed. "And what would have been so bad about that statement being that I felt something more than friendship for Ron? Even if he hadn't revealed his feelings for me last night, I was still already feeling something for him. Why couldn't I be the one to make the first move."

"Because of the food chain," her companion said with a knowing smirk. "And you saw Ron, 'not a guy, he's Ron.'"

Kim leaned forward and started rubbing her temples. "But that's just it. He wasn't just Ron. He hasn't been just Ron since that whole bout with the Moodulators. I mean, sure, those things enhance emotions, but according to Dr. Bortal…"

"Who?"

"Guy who created them," Kim replied. "According to Dr. Bortal, they don't enhance anything that's not already there."

Another smirk. "So I was right. There was something else to that whole date with Ron at Middleton Days."

Kim smiled and frowned at the same time, resulting in an odd look on her face. "I guess. I mean, I wasn't lying when I said there were still fireworks between Ron and I. Or at least, I don't think I was."

"So that's why you suggested that you and he go to his cousin's wedding together. You wanted to test the waters."

Kim did a double-take. "Yes…no…I don't…wait, how did you know I asked him? That kind of thing isn't common knowledge."

"Kim, I hate to tell you this, but all of Middleton was talking about that in the days that followed. Even after that whole Zorpox mess, it was still buzz-worthy conversation."

Kim eyed her companion. "You know, you're really too cool with this whole sitch. I keep waiting for you to start asking questions."

A shake of the head. "Kim, I don't need to ask questions because I saw this coming a long time ago."

Kim nearly spit out her drink. "You what? What are you talking about?"

"Remember last year? When Drakken sprayed you with that embarrassment serum?"

The red-head got a confused look. "Yeah. So?"

"Kim, that night, you finally got a date with Josh Mankey. And yet when we talked about it a few days later, all you could seem to focus on was how Ron saved your life by bringing that flower back from the Amazon. Out of a thirty-minute conversation, maybe all of five minutes was spent on Josh. The rest you spent gushing about how good a friend Ron was and how you wished you could have thanked him that night instead of waiting until the next morning."

Kim squinted. "Are you saying you think I had feelings for Ron back then?"

Another shake of the head. "No. I think it goes even farther back than that. In fact, I think it might go as far back as the Animology craze of freshman year."

This time Kim couldn't stop the slight spit of her drink. "That's…that's ferociously ridiculous!"

"Kim, think about it. Whose opinion on Señor Senior, Junior's, flowers did you ask for first?"

"Ron's, but he's been my best friend for so long, it was natural to ask him."

"Or you wanted to see if he was jealous, maybe."

Now it was Kim's turn to shake her head. "I did not want to make him jealous. Besides, he was chasing after Amelia back then."

"And you wanted him to chase after you."

Kim sat back in shock. "I…I did not," she tried to say strongly, but it came out as rather weak-sounding even to her ears.

"Kim, I think you wanted him even farther back than that, but that was the first time I ever saw you display it."

Now Kim went on the offensive. "So then why didn't you say anything? Hmmm?"

"Because you wouldn't have believed me."

"Of course I would have."

"Really?" the person replied, a questioning eye making the comment that much stronger.

"Well…I would have given it some serious thought at least."

"Would you have? Or would have brushed aside what you felt to keep chasing after Josh?"

"I…I…I…I definitely would have at least talked to him about it."

"Oh, like you did when he kept pushing you at Josh with that sad look behind his eyes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Kim, when it comes to Ron you can be incredibly dense. Think back to what you told me about the Mad Dog Ball dance freshman year. When you left him locked in a closet? If that's anybody else, what happens?"

Kim shrugged. "I think it would have worked out all right regardless."

Another disbelieving shake of the head. "Kim, I hate to tell you this, but every other guy in the world would have given you the cold shoulder for at least a week after that. Yet what did you tell me Ron did?"

Kim felt like she was backing into a corner, the chair she was sitting in suddenly feeling way too shallow. "Umm…uhh…he spent all the next day asking me how I liked going to the dance with Josh."

"Uh huh. And I'll bet you completely missed the way he kept looking at you the day after Halloween."

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kim, that boy looked like he was completely heart-broken every time you turned away from him that day."

"He did not," she defended. "He kept smiling and talking about how much candy he and Josh got and how nice Josh seemed."

"Maybe to your face he was like that. But every time you weren't looking at him, that smile disappeared quicker than Rufus demolishing a plate of nacos. That boy had it bad for you even then, and I think it hurt him more than anything that you lied to him just to be with Josh."

"But…but I didn't…"

"Don't even start with me. To be honest, out of all the lies you told that night, I think the ones that surprised me most were the ones you told to that boy. You know he would have been fine with it."

"Even if he was already in love with me?" Kim rounded, trying to turn the conversation out of interrogation mode.

No such luck.

"Especially because of that. Kim, all Ron has ever wanted to do is make you happy and keep you that way."

"What about the fights we've had? Like over his whole wanting to be the Mad Dog? Or him being better than me at working at Bueno Nacho? What about those?"

"Kim, from what I've heard, who was the first to apologize on both counts?"

"Ron," the red-head replied meekly.

"Uh huh. And who was the one to apologize for the fight you two had over the new attitude he picked up when you had that Francois fellow redo his hair?"

"Ron," she replied again.

"Right again. And what was your reaction when Ron tried to impress everyone by wearing that ring that gave him muscles?"

Kim swallowed nervously. "I…I told him…I told him that he was…was fine the way he was. But that…that doesn't mean I was in…that I was crushing on him…"

"Kim, how can you still not see it? Look at everything you two have been through together. Look at the trust you put in him by choosing him to join you on missions. Look at how many times you've tried to get him to change and then admitted that you were wrong and he was good the way he was."

Now Kim leaned sagged in disbelief. Had she really had feelings for Ron all this time? And hadn't he always accepted everything she was, regardless of whether or not he agreed with it? Despite everything she'd done to him or tried to do to him, the one person who always stuck by her side through thick and thin was Ron. And she wouldn't prefer to have any other person other than Ron Stoppable by her side when she went on her missions. But that didn't mean she had been in love with him…did it?

"Kim, look me in the eyes, no blinking, no zoning out, and tell me you weren't in love with Ron from the first time he saved you at Wannaweep forward."

Kim steeled herself, stared into the eyes of the person, and opened her mouth to speak…and nothing came out. She swallowed, blinked a few times, re-steeled her resolve, and tried again. And…nothing. As hard as she tried, Kim couldn't make the words come out of her mouth.

"Can't do it, can you?"

Kim tried one more time, unsuccessfully once again, before she closed her mouth and hung her head in shame and shock.

"No, I can't. I'm Kim Possible, I can do anything, and yet I couldn't even admit that I was attracted to my best friend while chasing after some high school hotties."

"Well, Kim, I would look at it this way. You're with Ron now and you've admitted you like him as a boyfriend, so I'd say you've got plenty of time to make it up to him."

Kim smiled for the first time since the questioning started. "Yeah, you're right. I do. I don't know if it'll be enough to make it up to him, but at least I have it."

"So when's he picking you up for your 'first official date'?"

"In about an hour. We're going to a movie and then to dinner. A _romantic_ movie."

A smile. "Just remember: let things fall where they will. If the past few years are any indication, you two will be just fine if you just let things happen. There's definitely fireworks between you two."

Kim grinned. "I know. And now I have myself a real hottie, not just one who looks good on the outside."

* * *

a/n

So, who is Kim talking to? Take your guesses and leave your reviews. :)


	2. Chapter 2: The Reveal

A/N

Chapter 2 is here!

Apologies to all those who have been waiting for the second half of this little two-shot, but I had a reader ask me if I would mind waiting a few weeks before I posted this so he could read it and participate. And since I was working on **G.V.U.: The Freshman Rush**, I decided to comply.

So, who has Kim been talking to? By the time this chapter is over, you will know! :) And it might surprise a few people.

* * *

"That's right, now you've got a guy who's substance and not just show," her companion said with a smile. "And you'd better not blow it. So what are you wearing tonight?"

Kim smiled. "Just what I've got on."

The person looked over the red-head with a disapproving eye. "Kim, don't you think you should maybe wear something a little more date appropriate?"

Kim frowned. "What do you mean? This is how I've always dressed for Ron Night before."

"Kim, this isn't 'Ron Night', and you know it. If you're going to date the boy, you've got to start letting him know that it's for real. Trust me, the surest way to make a guy like Ron start wondering is if you start dressing like it's just another night out."

Kim blinked a few times. "But…what if we're doing something where a dress or skirt doesn't work?"

"That's different. But you already said that you were going to dinner and a _romantic_ movie." The person put extra emphasis on the word "romantic", even adding air quotes.

Kim sighed. "Guess I need to go home and get changed then. After all, I need time to get back here since this is where we're meeting."

Her companion shook her head. "No, that won't work. It's your first real date, and you need something that's going to knock his socks off. I'm thinking something on the level of the Little Black Dress."

"That I wore to Middleton Days?" Kim replied. "But that's a bit of a bad memory for him, isn't it?"

"Exactly. So you need something just as eye-catching but that shows that you're serious about him. Now c'mon, let's move."

"But…" Kim protested, even as she was being dragged towards the Club Banana.

**…**  
**…**

An hour later, Ron came walking into the Middleton Mall, a smile on his face as he looked around the food court where he was supposed to meet Kim. Both Kim and her companion saw him walk in from their vantage point, one which they'd chosen so she could make something of an entrance. Kim smiled as she saw that he was wearing one of his nicer bowling-style shirts instead of his normal red jersey with dark blue turtleneck get-ups. Her companion smiled as well, pleased that the boy was taking this seriously.

Kim nervously tugged on the red dress she now wore. It was similar in style to the black one, but higher in the front and just an inch or two lower in the hem.

"Seriously, didn't you tell me to never wear bright red with my hair color?"

"Kimberly Anne Possible, look at me. That isn't what I told you. What I said was never wear it unless you want to make a statement. Which believe me you need to do tonight."

"But what if he freaks out?" Kim replied, running a nervous hand through her auburn locks. "I mean, what if he panics because he sees me in a new dress?"

"Don't worry about that, and instead focus on what your new beau is going to be seeing. Remember, Ron is going to be thinking so much about how thrilled he is to be going on an actual date with you that he's not going to be worried too much about what you're wearing. The point is that you want to look good for him, right?"

"Well…yeah," replied Kim, straightening up a little.

"And you look fabulous. Now, go, knock that boy's socks off, and let everyone know he's the one you're with now."

As Kim walked off confidently, her companion smiled. The grin grew about twice the size when she saw Ron's mouth drop at his new girlfriend's outfit, and got even bigger when Kim closed her new boyfriend's mouth for him and planted a kiss there on his lips. As she watched them link hands and head towards one of the nicer restaurants the mall had to offer, she couldn't resist a mental pat on the back for herself.

_Well, Monique, you did it. You kept your mouth shut like you promised that girl and didn't play matchmaker for her. Even if it was harder than resisting a Club Banana sale. After all, could have told those two from the moment I met them it was TMTB._

_

* * *

_

a/n

So, did you guess right?

For those who claim it couldn't have been Monique because she never used any acronyms until the end, there are several episodes where she never used a single one. Plus, if she had used one here, it would have given it away immediately. And for those who claim she knew things she couldn't have, I interpret her and Kim's friendship as one where they would tell each other everything, including Kim talking to her BFF about her feelings about Ron prior to Eric showing up, and possibly a few stories about the two of them prior to Monique's arrival in Middleton.

And while I think Anne Possible could have just as easily been the person Kim was talking to (actually debated switching to her halfway through the writing of this thing), I entered into this with the idea of Kim talking to her BFF_. _That is part of the reason I had segments of this read like a friendly interrogation, because I figured only a best friend could keep Kim's feet to the fire like that without it sounding like a parent.

Now, as for why I did this:

It was a simple writing experiment to see if I could create a conversation where readers would not know who one of the participants was. This was necessary as I have a scene coming up in a future story that will require this very thing, but on a bit of a grander scale (One known character talking with many unknowns), and I wanted to make sure I could pull it off before attempting it. Especially since it is a key element to the coming plot line.

Thanks for reading. :)

Oh, and that acronym she used at the end: _**T**_otally _**M**_eant _**T**_o _**B**_e.


End file.
